Care Package from Mom

Today I found a box from my mom in my mail box!

When I was young, my mother was a weaver.

She dyed and spun wool into yarn and wove on a loom.

Our extra bedroom was a "weaving room".

In addition to weaving, she collected things like small spinning wheels,

sheep, and other figures representing her hobby.

She has had this tiny spinning wheel since the 1970's.

In my late teens, I placed it in my dollhouse.

She recently visited my dad (they have been divorced for 20 years).

She sent me photos of my old stuffed animals so that I could virtually

sort through what I wanted to keep.

This spinning wheel ended up in a photo with my Hagen-Renaker

animals. I told her that I wanted to keep the spinning wheel,

so she packed it in her bag and brought it back with her to New Mexico.

The spinning wheel will go into my new dollhouse.

My mother grew up in Honolulu.

When she was 14, she dated a young Japanese man.

I can imagine that her parents were not thrilled with the

inter-racial relationship with their young daughter in the 1950's.

She reconnected with him about 10 years ago.

She has lived with him at some points, and now visits

him from time to time.

At one point, she had given me a set of Kokeshi dolls from his family.

I loved these dolls, but she wanted them back, so I gave them to her.

I periodically have looked for Kokeshi dolls on eBay to replace these dolls.

I almost cried when I opened the box

and found a new family of Kokeshi dolls.

In a follow-up "thank you" to my mom, she said that she

had purchased them when she had visited Pennsylvania

in December. She purchased them at an antique store

that had a small Asian section.

My mom spent Christmas with the same man

from Honolulu visiting his family in Pennsylvania.

I believe these dish-style cloths with the Amish images were

also a souvenir from her visit to Pennsylvania.

So returning to the original reason for this package.

In more recent years, my mother has become an amazing quilter 

with an eye for textiles developed in her time as a weaver. 

She normally makes full sized quilts for wall decorations, beds, etc. 

In September, I asked her to make a quilt for Ella 

for my birthday at the end of September. 

Going small was quite a challenge!

When I saw her the weekend after Thanksgiving, 

she showed me an Asian themed fabric and asked if liked it. 

Yes! We joked about her making a quilt for me for Christmas. 

Then, hey, there is Valentine's Day! What about Easter? 

Okay, Memorial Day and the 4th of July are coming up!!!!

She finally finished the doll quilt I requested at the beginning of September. 

It was well worth the wait! 

It reflects her interest in the Asian culture in Honolulu. 

Ella finds that it suits her interests, too!

I love the little figures. Very Japan! 

Both Ella and I are very happy with the new doll quilt!